Deceased Batman Star Adam West Remembered in Hollywood

'Batman' and 'Family Guy' star Adam West has died at 88 years old. Jane Yamamoto reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, 2017. (Published Saturday, June 10, 2017)

Adam West, whose straight-faced portrayal of Batman in a campy 1960s TV series lifted the tight-clad Caped Crusader into the national consciousness, has died at age 88, his publicist said Saturday.

West died Friday night after "a short but brave battle with leukemia," his family said in a statement.

West played the superhero straight for kids and funny for adults. He initially chaffed at being typecast after "Batman" went off the air after three seasons, but in later years he admitted he was pleased to have had a role in kicking off a big-budget film franchise by showing the character's wide appeal.

"You get terribly typecast playing a character like that," he told The Associated Press in a 2014 interview.

Our beloved AW passed away last night. He was the greatest. We'll miss him like crazy. We know you'll miss him too - West Family pic.twitter.com/8bkEq1C2ao

"But in the overall, I'm delighted because my character became iconic and has opened a lot of doors in other ways, too." He returned to the role in an episode of the animated "The Simpsons."

And more recently, he did the voice of nutty Mayor Adam West in the long-running "Family Guy" series.

"He was bright, witty and fun to work with," Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman to West's Batman, said in a statement Saturday. "I will miss him in the physical world and savor him always in the world of imagination and creativity."

The TV show was among the most popular in 1966, the year of its debut, and some of the era's top actors signed on to play villains. Burgess Meredith squawked as the Penguin. Eartha Kitt purred as Catwoman. And Cesar Romero cackled as the Joker.